Robert Hawkins

I’m glad to hear it’s at least being discussed, but the way the Minister coins it is that status quo will continue to be the process that we’ll live by. I cannot justify that we don’t attach a fixed fee as opposed to percentages, because we cannot justify losing people on jobs over poor fiscal management that this government’s been running by.

So will this Minister, who can do the job, clearly and immediately take on this task and report back to this House on his findings on a way we can save money and fix the process so consultants don’t have the advantage of these projects by encouraging them...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to make mention, as so many of us already know, that February is Black History Month and that 2008 marks the 175th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

It has been 12 years since Parliament officially recognized February as Black History Month. In a unanimously carried motion brought forward by the Hon. Jean Augustine, this month hosts activities scheduled across Canada to provide the chance to put the spotlight on the contributions made to our communities and to the country by Canadians of African and Caribbean descent.

The many nationalities...

No questions.

Mr. Speaker, I think there are a lot of partners out there that would be more than willing to engage, such as the Canadian Tourism Commission — the CTC. The fact is that I think the potential does exist out there. The fact is we’re missing out on a huge market that comes to the Northwest Territories, such as the southern Canadian market as well as the American market.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to hear what else the Minister is doing. Is he advocating for a potential hotel tax to help find new revenues so we can reinvest in tourism advertising, or is he searching for other types of joint...

Mr. Speaker, I’m not used to a “yes” from this Minister so quickly. Now, what does “immediate” mean in this particular case?

Laughter.

Because at the rate government moves, “immediate” could be the 17th Assembly. So I’d like this Minister’s definition of what “immediate” means. Are we going to see it before the next sitting?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all aware of cost overruns on many of our infrastructure projects, which have been spiralling out of control for a number of years. It’s something we need to be very concerned about and finally get on top of, because projects get cancelled and deferred.

It has come to my attention that one of the contributing factors to this problem is the way the fees are structured for project consultants. The fees are structured based on a percentage, which actually may give the consultant an incentive to encourage cost overruns. Mr. Speaker, that is not the way we should be...

Mr. Chairman, everyone is making a big deal out of the fact that, oh goodness, we have to send them there, but I want to first find out how many court-ordered assessments have been issued, and how much is the typical rate that we would normally pay a local psychiatric person/professional to do this job? Thank you.

I’m sorry to belabour this point, but if anyone takes a look at this, everything he’s said doesn’t apply to the example we talked about before. Whether we’ve topped up the project, it’s my point of view, again, that we’re not following consistent patterns here.

I’ll say it the same way I closed off my last point. It appears to be a lone position, but again, it doesn’t necessarily mean my point is incorrect, in that not everyone on this side of the House is screaming, “clarity, consistency.”

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that, Mr. Chairman. We could be here all day belabouring this. The fact is, I’m...

My question, probably misunderstood, had nothing to do with the direction to order court-ordered psychiatric assessments. It had to do more so with whether we provide those services in the Northwest Territories.

Again, I wish to reaffirm, not just to the Member who represents the community but anyone else out there who’s listening and who cares. The fact is — and it’s not a criticism of the project — now we have the example where the other applies.

Again, now I’ve bought into the Finance Minister’s important song and dance and passionate plea that this is the way we do things; this is way we’ve done things since 1997; and now we do this project through Capital Investments. So just when I get it clear that if we’re going to build a gym in Gametì that I suspect belongs to the community, now if we go look...